Dark as Snow
by Listelia
Summary: A muffled noise in the frozen night. A twig cracked, pine needles fell while something slipped under the branches of the tree. Albus swallowed. - "Who's there?" he asked in a trembling voice. There was something in the shadows, lurking between two mounds of snow. Something that was looking at him. (Harry has a wife who understands him, 3 kids he loves and the most unusual pet...)
1. The last and the first day

It was the day Ginny decided the plush toy dragon had lived long enough and it was time to put it in the trash.  
>Harry would have preferred for it to disappear during the night and for them to tell Albus a great story : Toothless, tired of living with humans had decided to go play with his own kind in the depths of Romania. <em>Or rather Groenland<em>. Anyway. But he felt it was too cruel to ask a six years old boy to say goodbye to his best friend this abruptly.

But Ginny said Albus was big enough to see the tattered cloth didn't look like a friend anymore and that it would be a good way of helping him grow up.  
>Except she had just picked that day to take James to the barber - while Mrs. Weasley was babysitting Lily - and now her son and husband were facing alone the destiny of the stuffed dragon.<p>

Harry cleared his throat.  
>- "Do ... do you want to bury it or ... I don't know. Just putting it in the bin, it's a little sad."<p>

Albus'emerald eyes looked up to his father after contemplated the ruined toy he held in his arms.  
>- "It's dark, in the ground", he said slowly.<br>Harry nodded thoughtfully. He looked through the window and his face suddenly lit up.  
>- "Come on, Al, I have an idea. We'll make a snow home for your dragon and leave it in it, what do you think?"<br>Albus nodded, looking a bit skeptical.

They dressed with gloves, hats, scarves and warm coats and pushed the door against which the snow had accumulated.  
>It was very cold and the sky was low and white above their heads. The plain was completely covered in snow and the only touches of color were the red roof of their house and the blue smoke from the quirky chimney of the Borrow.<p>

Their footsteps crunched in the deep snow. Albus walked holding hands with his father, his cap pulled down over his eyes. Harry looked around, looking for a place that would soften the great separation.  
>- "Ha", he suddenly said, bending down to show his son the grove of trees hooded with white. "It's a great place here."<br>Albus rubbed his nose and sniffed, looking thoughtful. His breath condensed.  
>- "Um", he said at last.<br>Harry nodded with a smile.

- "What do we do? A snowman?"  
>- "A snow boat", corrected the boy. "Toothless and I, we love boats."<br>They built a ship worthy of one which, so long ago, had emerged from Hogwarts Lake. Harry cut fir branches to make the sails and Albus shaped the oars with application. Snow was falling again and delicate flakes settled on the pine needles and crystallized them.  
>Then the boy knelt in front of the plush toy.<br>- "Have fun, Toothless", he whispered.  
>He stroked the muzzle where there was more button to make the nose, the blind eyes, chewed ears and paws so worn that the padding is was completely gone.<p>

Harry crouched down next to him and put his arm around his son.  
>- "Thank you for being there all these years, Toothless", he said very seriously.<br>The little black plush dragon did not move in front of them, its rough fur barely lifted by the rising wind on the plain.  
>Everything was so silent, so white under the dark sky.<br>Harry remembered a beach flooded with sun and an old friend to large jagged ears who had fallen asleep forever, and a cemetery covered with snow ashes in which opened a flower corolla.  
>Albus nodded, holding back his tears.<br>- "Goodbye, Toothless", he said hoarsely.

He stood up and ran away from the snow ship, stumbling in the deep snow.  
>Harry stood up too and thrust his hands into his pockets, contemplating the small figure with a red cap going away, trying not to cry.<p>

_Saying goodbye ... this is the hardest thing at any age ...  
>I'm proud of you, Al.<em>

He caught up with the child in a few strides and held out his hand. Albus slid his glove in his and they went back home in silence.  
>In the grove of trees, under the long branches dressed in pearly snow, the little black plush dragon was slowly speckled with white.<p>

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Ginny said nothing, but she made pancakes for dinner and didn't scold when blueberry jam stained the Christmas tablecloth.<br>James made a show of his hair now cut very short and was very talkative as usual, but from her four years of age, Lily noticed the silence of her brother and planted a big kiss on Albus' cheek before going to bed first.  
>Harry wanted to pace in the corridor waiting for his son to be asleep, but he was summoned to the Ministry of Magic on urgent business and had to leave before bath time.<p>

While Ginny chased after James from one room to another - he hated to wash like any other eight years old boy - Albus went down the stairs, tiptoeing.  
>He put on his boots and coat behind the cellar door, listening to the racket upstairs, then pulled his cap over his thick black curls and gently turned the latch of the door.<br>He held his breath, but no one could have heard the door creak with his brother's howls and the noise of overturned chairs.  
>In her moon-shaped bed, Lily happily clapped her hands, very much awake.<br>Albus closed the door behind him and breathed in deeply.  
>It was even colder than in the afternoon, but the fog had lifted and the stars twinkled, icy, in the inky night sky.<br>Albus took the direction of the grove of trees, putting his feet in his father's footprints.

He looked back only once, to contemplate the house with its warm golden windows, then snuggled his frozen nose in his scarf and started walking again.  
>Everything was silent, except for the muffled sound of his shoes in the snow.<br>_Surely, there were no wolves, trolls or other monsters in ambush behind every white mound_.  
>He heard an owl hooting and shuddered.<br>_Who received mail at this hour?_  
>Everything seemed so great about him.<br>_Could anyone see him from the stars?_  
>A red wool pompom in the white immensity of the plain ...<br>He pulled up his hood and tried to look as invisible as possible.

The grove of trees finally growed in the dark. The moon had risen and slid, pale and shiny in between the branches.  
>The silvery rays haloed the motionless snow vessel, almost swallowed up. Albus leaned over and touched the sails to break down the crystals.<br>He couldn't see the oars anymore. The prow stung in a mound of snow and ...  
>It was not the cold that suddenly froze him.<br>_Toothless was gone._  
>He searched the snow, took off his gloves to feel the fur, threw aside the branches whose needles had fallen off, his teeth chattering, gasping more and more as he realized the plush toy wasn't here.<br>When he stopped searching, his fingers numb and his lips blue, the ship was completely destroyed and the snow ransacked around him.

- "Toothless."  
>His voice made a bubble noise in the silence of the night.<br>- "Toothless?"  
>He wiped the hot tears streaming down his face.<br>- "Toothless, are you there?"  
>He sniffed - a frightening sound in the frozen night around him.<br>- "Why are you gone?"  
>He closed his eyes, buried his face in his knees, holding his legs. He shivered, soaked and exhausted.<p>

_ Please ..._

A muffled noise.  
>A twig cracked, pine needles fell while something slipped under the lower branches of the tree.<br>Albus lifted his head and swallowed.  
>- "Who's there?" he asked in a quavering voice.<br>There was something in the shadows, lurking between two clumps of snow.  
>Something that was looking at him.<br>Two green eyes split by a golden diamond.  
>- "Who's there?" Albus repeated, his teeth chattering.<p>

The moon slipped between the branches and drew two short rounded ears, a spine on which the wind brushed up the fur.  
>Four clumsy legs and two wings hanging in the snow like long black feathers, thick like velvet.<br>A square muzzle on which furrowed a bright as a button truffle and tiny teeth that looked like glass darts.

The child's eyes widened.  
>- "Who are you?" he whispered slowly.<br>The creature cocked its head, imitating him, and sat down heavily with a small sneeze.  
>Albus could not help smiling. He held out his hand.<br>- "Come on", he called. "Come, dragon."  
>The creature chewed, looking bored. Its tail shaped like an ace of spades stirred and swept the snow.<p>

- "Come on!" Albus chuckled.  
>The little black ink animal sniffed and sneezed again.<br>- "You're cold", said the child who had forgotten he was shaking too.  
>He held out his arms and smiled again, enveloping the strange creature who came from nowhere with a loving gaze.<br>- "Come, silly."  
>The ears brushed back, then forward, the animal furrowed his long silver moon whiskers, then rose and approached cautiously, glancing aside.<br>Albus stood as motionless as his shivering body would allow. He had a thrill of joy when very soft pads stepped on his leg.  
>The muzzle of the little dragon touched his cheek, wet and warm.<br>He chuckled when the whiskers tickled his chin.  
>The creature was now on his knees and its weight was warm and light like of a cat.<br>- "See ... you're not afraid", murmured Albus who was getting sore jaws smiling.  
>A sneeze, then something nipped his cheek.<br>- "You hungry?"

A yawn. The little dragon sat up, putting his front paws on the shoulder of the boy who dared not take him in his arms. Its warm breath blew against Albus' ear.  
>- "Don't you eat my ear."<br>His fingers gently approached the black wings to which the moon gave satin sheen. He touched a feather then, as the animal did not move, stroked down the fluffy fur.  
>- "You're so soft..."<br>The dragon cooed and licked his face.  
>- "Hey, it's raspy", protested Albus giggling.<br>The animal snuggled against him and purred, pushing its head against the boy's jacket.  
>- "What do you want? You hungry?"<br>The tiny dragon streched its wings, and then folded them around its body, setteling on Albus' lap. His paws kneaded the jeans of the child and its throat was still emitting a muffled sound of contentment.  
>- "You want to sleep, then."<br>Albus looked around.

He wasn't afraid of the night anymore and his fingers no longer hurt him, even if he still felt a little cold in his boots and under his pants.  
>The little dragon was warm like a hot water bottle against him.<br>Albus smiled.  
>- "We stay here, then. Good night, Toothless."<br>He closed his eyes.

Snow was falling again, in white flakes on his long eyelashes. It was melting when it touched his cheeks and glistening on the black fur of the sleeping creature, leaving shiny drops like moonlight pearls.

Somewhere in the plain, torches were burning and people were called, but in the grove of trees, everything was quiet and peaceful.

Albus was dreaming in his sleep and he was smiling.

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued ...<em>**


	2. Midnight Visit

_Warm,__ soft, light._

_The scent of__ marshmallow and hot chocolate._

Albus blinked, snuggling deeper into the cocoon of pleasant sensations.

- "Al? Honey, you hear me?"

He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw his mother leaning over him.

- "Mummy?"

His throat hurt a little, as if the words were scraping as they forced their way out.

- "Al, you okay?"

He turned his head toward the voice. His father was sitting on the edge of the bed, his black hair disheveled and looked worried. He pushed up his glasses with a tired gesture and bent down to pat Albus' hand.

- "You gave us a fright, y'know."

Albus did not understand. His gaze returned to Ginny, puzzled. Her face was gray with fatigue and worry.

- "What on Earth possessed you to run away on your own in such a cold night?" she squeaked in a trembling voice.

Then she began to cry and Harry got up to put his arm around her shoulders.

- "Everything's fine, it's over, Ginny", he said softly. "Go rest, I'll stay with him."

He gently pushed her away and waited for her to be out of the room before sitting on the chair next to the nightstand.

- "Daddy?"

The torpor that enveloped Albus was beginning to fade away. He squirmed a little in his bed, felt the aches lurking in his shoulders, his split lips, the weakness of his whole body and the pain that was leaking into his lungs when he tried to breathe in deeply.

Harry helped him sit and gave him a drink. The hot chocolate certainly contained something magical because his discomfort decreased again.

- "Feeling better?"

- "What happened?" Albus whispered. "Why was mummy ..."

Harry stroked his forehead gently.

- "Your mum got really scared when she couldn't find you in the house, Al. You disappeared for several hours, it was really ..."

He stopped, his throat hoarse. Then looked at his son's eyes.

- "Don't ever do that again, okay?"

Albus nodded gravely.

He had never seen his father so serious.

- I'm sorry, Daddy ...

Harry smiled. He pulled up the quilt, tucked in Albus tenderly.

- "It's over, now. But I don't think you can play beyond the house yard for a few months. Mum won't stand losing sight of you for a second."

He did not add that he himself had almost lost it when he had heard of the boy gone missing.

_If__ Ron ..._

Ron and Hermione, fortunately, had joined the search with them and the presence of his best friend had really helped him regain his composure. Even if everything had pretty much ended well, Ginny would certainly have an even harder time than him forgetting those hours of nightmare. To the fear that anything has happened to the child had been added guilt for no watching over him properly, then a night of anguish at the bedside of the sick child.

- "Why did you go there on your own, Al? I thought we had agreed to let your dragon in the snow boat."

Albus' long dark lashes fluttered.

- "Toothless!"

He sat up suddenly, looking around him.

Harry sighed.

- "We're done with this, Al. We agreed not to go back for it."

The dragon was gone, the snow trampled and the snow ship destroyed. A wild beast had probably gone through the grove and taken the ragged dragon plush. Even this had surely broken his son's heart, Harry was relieved the animal, whatever it was, had taken the toy rather than hurt the child. It had been frightening enough finding him asleep in the snow, close to hypothermia, but thankfully without any injury.

- "I saw him", Albus said.

Harry smiled at the child's relaxed face. The potion was indeed working. He would go back to sleep and be back on foot the next day. The whole ordeal would be quickly forgotten.

- "I really saw him, daddy", the boy insisted. "Toothless, I saw him."

His eyes were sparkling and his cheeks were flushed.

Harry, worried, put his hand on his forehead.

_The fever__ had gone down, though._

Albus chuckled and snuggled into his pillow.

- "He's really cute, daddy", he yawned. "He didn't run away when I touched him, he recognized me."

Harry decided he was talking about a dream and nodded, smiling.

- "Of course he knows you."

- "But I had never seen him before ..." the child muttered, half asleep.

- "Good night, Al", said his father, kissing his forehead.

He left after a last look at the boat-shaped bed and lit the night lights in the hallway with his wand before heading to his own room.

He smiled as he entered, amused. Ginny was fast asleep, curled around Lily who was snoring, her little fists next to her chubby face. James had probably sneaked in a little later. He occupied the place of his father and was breathing quietly, mumbling incomprehensibly. A red sock decorated with witches hats was out of the quilt.

Harry put the foot back into warmth, stroked Lily's red hair and kissed his wife's temple before gently closing the door. He went down to the living room, sat on the sofa, draped the blanket over his knees and put his head on his folded arms, propped against a pillow knitted by his stepmother.

_4 AM__._

_Everything was__ back to normal._

_Everyone__ was fine._

The fire was asleep in the fireplace, giving a gentle heat. From time to time, an ember crackled, a reassuringly familiar sound. In the wooden nest hanging next to the window, the owl cooed while sleeping, its head under its wing. Snow gave a bluish sheen to the windows powdered with white bells and firs. The aroma of pancakes was still floating in the room, mixed with cinnamon and apple syrup. The magical clock on the wall above the buffet had gathered the five needles on the word _home_.

Harry closed his eyes and let out the sigh of relief stuck in his chest since his hasty return from the Ministry of Magic.

_Oh__, Albus ..._

_It's__ James who gives us trouble, usually, not you ..._

He yawned.

_Still a few__ hours before dawn ... I should get some sleep. If her parents come for a while tomorrow, Ginny should be able to get back on her feet._

_Did__ Ron get that info we were missing?_

His thoughts blurred. He pulled the blanket to his chin and fell asleep.

The moon passed over the house, dragging its rays through the window like long blond threads. She lightened the crumpled tablecloth on the table, Lily's high chair, a small shoe on the steps of the staircase, the blue porcelain cup on top of the stack of books, the armchair in front of which Harry had abandoned his slippers.

The young man shifted in his sleep, but it was not because of him that the fringes of the sofa fluttered.

There was something in the shade and its breath was making them tremble.

A sneeze - _atchee_ - followed by an annoyed snort - _frrsht_.

Then the little dragon crawled out of his hiding place and shook open his numb black wings. He looked at Harry, thoughtful for a moment, then sniffed again and trotted into the kitchen. He put his nose in a half-open closet, jumped on a chair and from there on the edge of the sink where he smelled with delight the sausage dish that Ginny had left to soak. He stumbled on one of his wings, as he turned and fell heavily to the floor.

_Pof._

His chubby body covered with thick fur didn't make much noise.

He stood up, shook his shaggy head on which an ear was bent and sneezed again.

_Atchee._

Harry groaned in his sleep but did not wake up.

The little dragon wrinkled his tiny nose and waved his tail. He nibbled the carpet a bit then saw the shoe on which the moon hung bright reflections. His eyes narrowed and he flattened, rolling his shoulders. He jumped and skidded on a hat fell off from the hook. His muzzle hit the foot of the ramp and he hissed.

Embers crackled in the fireplace. He turned around, raising his ears, slipped between the furniture to the fire and watched it for a long time, his whiskers so close flakes of ashes clung onto it.

Then he snorted and trotted back toward the stairs. He jumped on the first step and turned around to check on the sleeper, but nothing had moved on the sofa. So he ran up with light steps, his long black satin wings stroking the stairs carpet behind him.

In the hallway, he hesitated and sniffed the air to find the scent he was following.

_A__ ball against the wall - no._

_A roller skate__ - yes and no._

The teddy bear much intrigued him. It smelled of milk and shepherd's pie. The little dragon dutifully cleaned the leg that had been soaked in Lily's plate and nipped the bear's ear. He fought against the plush toy for a while, paddling on the stuffed belly and filled his mouth with synthetic loops, then stretched out full length on the carpet of the corridor, a paw fraternally holding the pooh.

The golden diamond in his intelligent green eyes rounded curiously. He left the toy behind and slid flat belly up to the night lights.

The light butterfly inside the glass globe swirled, changing colors.

_Blue, pink__, pale yellow, pistachio green, blue ..._

He tried to put his paw inside the transparent bubble, but failed to catch the so fascinating butterfly.

Some snow broke away from the roof and fell with a muffled sound on the edge of the bow window.

The little dragon looked up, alert.

_One, two__, three, four breaths on this floor._

He sat down and decided to wash. After carefully licking his paw and giving a lustrous shine to his black fur, he went looking for the scent again.

He flattened his ears and snarled silently at the door of the first room, his eyes fixed on the shaft of light that moved on the other side of the door, and ran on tiptoe, tail in the air, when the door opened.

Ginny did not see him. She tied the strings of her robe and went downstairs.

The little dragon came out of his hiding place behind the green plant in the pot of which James had installed the camp of his plastic soldiers.

_Frrsht._

He cautiously walked to the middle of the hallway, then rushed into the other room in a few strides.

He shoved under the bed then stood up against the quilt waving his whiskers. A purr was born in his throat and his wings were softly spreading.

He cooed softly, interrogative, happy.

Albus stirred and turned aside. His hand slipped and the little dragon snuggled his head against the open palm. As he did not get more attention, he nibbled on a finger.

The tiny and fine like glass teeth woke up Albus who sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes.

- "Huh? James, stop!"

His eyes widened.

- "Oh. It's you!"

The gold split green eyes were fixed on him. Albus reached down and hoisted the black ball of fur on his bed.

- "Hey ... where were you? Did you follow me? Have the others seen you?"

The little dragon danced a while on his knees, allowing him to stroke him, then curled in a hollow of the quilt, his eyes half-closed, his paws kneading on the boy's arm.

Albus lay carefully not to disturb him.

- "Tomorrow, I'll asked Daddy what to feed you", he whispered.

His mother would certainly accept the new Toothless, so beautiful and so nice.

He closed his eyes, glad to feel again the fluffy ears under his fingers.

_It wasn't a dream._

It was true.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>It was not a dream.<p>

_It was true._

Harry considered, stunned, the living replica of Toothless standing on the bed of his son, its hair bristling and its ears back, hissing and spitting, whiskers straight, its black wings spread like a bat.

Albus tugged on the sleeve of his father, begging.

- "He just got scared", he pleaded. "He didn't want to scratch James. He didn't do it on purpose!"

Near the door, James' howls weren't of pain but aimed to denounce the obvious injustice : since when Albus had the right to _his own pet_ and why could he even let it sleep _in his bedroom_?

- "That's enough, shut up already", ordered Ginny, irritated, while finishing to put ointment on his hand. "It's only a scratch. What were you doing here anyway? Albus's sick, you weren't supposed to wake him up!"

- "He's no longer sick, now that he can show off with his dragon", grumbled James who had chosen with reason to obey, and turn off the siren.

- "What is _that_?" Harry finally asked.

Albus somewhat got more confident. His father's voice was not angry.

- "It's Toothless", he said.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

- "No, it's not. I can see it looks _a lot_ like it, but this is _not_ a plush toy, Al. How did it get into your room?"

The child looked at him with innocence.

- "I don't know. He came in the night, I woke up. I found him where we made the snow boat, Daddy. Oh, please, let him stay with us!"

Ginny cleared her throat behind them.

- "Al, this may be a dangerous animal. Look how it hisses. It's not happy. If you approached it, it would probably bite you."

- "No, he wouldn't!

Harry had just enough time to grab the boy by the arm before he'd rush to the bed to prove the angry dragon was not going to hurt him.

- "Al, wait."

The young man exchanged a glance with Ginny, then turned again to his son.

- "You know what? Let's have breakfast and during that time, _Toothless__ II the Return_ will have time to calm down. Then we'll see what happens next."

Albus opened his mouth to protest, then looked down and nodded.

- "Yes, Daddy".

- "That's good, Al."

Harry stood up and ruffled his son's hair while watching the little devil still electrified with anger on the bed.

_He was going to need help to identify their surprise guest and make a choice._

Ginny took the hand of Albus as he passed by her side.

- "Did you sleep well, honey?"

- "Yes. Toothless kept me warm."

The young woman pursed her lips a moment, then smiled at the child.

- "What do you want for breakfast?"

- "Why does _he_ get to choose, now?" James squealed immediately, behind them.

Harry did not completely shut the door and caught up with them. He put his hand on the shoulder of his eldest son to calm him.

- "I'll go over to the Ministry of Magic to arrange my leave today", he told Ginny. "And see if Neville can spare some time ..."

She nodded, then arranged the children's breakfast. Her towel wrapped around her neck, Lily tapped happily in her bowl, splashing milk everywhere. James was having a contest of gluttony with himself since he had realized his brother wouldn't pick up the challenge. Albus's spoon missed his mouth half the time, since he had his head turned toward the stairs.

Ginny rubbed her forehead, but failed to decide whether she should be angry, cry or just laugh. She eventually pushed back her red hair and grabbed Lily. She was about to take her to the bathroom when she froze.

- "Oh".

- "What is it, Mum?" James asked between bites of crunchy honey bread spread with pumpkin jam.

- "Oh", Albus repeated.

- "Oh-oh", sing sang Lily, imitating them.

On the staircase, the little upset dragon was glancing at the young woman. It didn't move for a while, then went down the last steps and walked around her to go look at the white stains on the tile floor.

- "He fancies milk", Albus cried, delighted.

James grabbed a piece of bacon in the pan and bent down to offer it to the animal.

Toothless II sniffed the piece of meat with visible interest, cautiously grabbed it with its sharp teeth and pulled on it to snatch it from the hands of the child, before launching it into the air and swallowing it down in one gulp.

The little dragon licked its lips, its round eyes rounded with delight, then belched loudly, making the children burst in laughter. It climbed on a chair then on the table, put its paws in the plates, dragged its wings in scone crumbs and shoved its nose in every dish. Within minutes, it had swallowed the food left for Harry and cleaned Lily's mess.

- "He's so funny!" James exclaimed.

- "Dwagon, Dwagon", called Lily, clapping her hands.

Albus turned pleading eyes to his mother.

Ginny sighed.

- "Can't we keep him, Mummy? _Please_?"

- "Al ... Let's wait for your dad's decision, okay?

She smiled as softly as she could.

_Albus__ never asked for anything, unlike his brother and his sister._

_Him who was so__ shy had walked two good miles in the snow during the night to get back his plush toy._

The little dragon seemed harmless, but it would grow and perhaps become a wild beast that could hurt her son.

_Maybe ..._

_Neville…_

_Neville__ would surely know what to do with it._

She just hoped she would not be the one who would have to explain to the child that his best friend should again leave him.

- "Hey!" James suddenly shouted, jumping off his chair and running to the window. "Look who's coming!"

* * *

><p><strong><em> To be continued...<em>**


	3. Speculation

Hermione finished to tie the scarf on Hugo who was squirming like a worm, and then let him go.

- "All right, you can play", she said, giving him a pat on the back.

Screaming in joy, the boy ran off to the others.

Ginny giggled.

- "He's just as quiet as his father at the same age."

- "I thought so", said her sister-in-law with a dramatic sigh before joining her in laughter.

The sun was high in the blue sky, glittering on the stalactites fringed on the roof of the house, the ice that covered the wooden fence and the immaculate cream on the branches of the trees in the garden.

The children were throwing snowballs that were bursting into brilliant powder. Their excited and joyful shrieks echoed in the cold air. The small black dragon capered around them, his wings half open, his thick hair flecked with white. His tiny pink tongue appeared from time to time when he let out a strange hoarse cry that sounded like a chuckle.

Ginny pulled her chin in her fur collar and tapped her gloves against each other for warmth.

- "He looks like a puppy or huge kitten", Hermione commented while giving a swinging motion to their padded seat. "I wonder if it's really a dragon. I mean, it has nothing to do with the monstrous creatures Hagrid was raising at the time."

- "This is why I'd like to talk to Charlie", Ginny said with a wince. "But he's in Romania at the moment and won't be back before the end of the month."

- "HUGO! If I see you do that again, we're off! Is that _understood_?" Hermione shouted fiercely, suddenly getting up. She waited for her son to nod sheepishly to sit down. "And with Grawp's wedding, it's not like you could ask Hagrid, he's too busy," she added.

Ginny snorted mockingly.

- "And I already know his answer, whether this beast is dangerous or not : "Aww, keep it!"

The two women laughed together.

- "What's so funny?" asked Mr. Weasley, coming from behind them, walking slowly with a tray on which were smoking cups.

Ginny took out her wand and pulled closer the little garden iron table. Hermione cleared away the frozen snow with a light motion of her wrist. They moved aside to leave room for the old man on the swing.

- "Memories", answered the young redhead woman. "What do you think of Albus' new friend, Dad?"

- "That nothing should be decided before a good cuppa", her father said happily. "There's nothing better to help you sort out your thoughts."

He took a few sips of tea then pushed up his cap on his broad forehead dotted with freckles. His gaze went to the children who were now building a snow troll. His eyes became very serious.

- "I wonder if ..."

- "If?" Ginny repeated anxiously.

- "Could it just be a manifestation of Albus' magic?" suggested the old man slowly. "In the cold, overwhelmed by emotion, the fear from being alone in the dark ... maybe this beast _is_ Toothless. Suddenly pulled to life by a frightened child who was facing a pain too big for him."

Hermione bit her lip and arranged a lock escaped from her bun.

- "I had thought so too, but ... it's just _too much_. Well, maybe Albus does really have this kind of capacity, but still ... it doesn't make sense. It's a living creature."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears.

- "When James showed his magic for the first time, he just turned his locomotive into a rocket! It wasn't a problem for him to let go of his teddy bear. I never thought it would turn into this mess, it was _only a toy_ and Albus is already six..."

Her father put his arm around her shoulders.

- "Don't you start feeling guilty. Nothing tells us this is indeed the case, anyway. Perhaps it's a real dragon, but I reckon it's a magical creature we don't know, or even a poor cat that's got himself into troubles with a very stupid wizard."

Ginny wiped her cheeks the back of her wrist.

- "Harry tried to disenchant it before going to the Ministry of Magic, but it didn't work", she stammered. "I ..."

- "GRANDDADDYYYYYY, ARE YOU COMIIIIIIING?"

Rose and Lily were yelling from their lungs on the other side of the garden, standing on tiptoe. Hugo had climbed on the back of James who was running in circles, neighing wildly, his cheeks red and his brown hair messy and sticky with perspiration.

Mr. Weasley waved his hand to answer.

- "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

He finished his cup of tea in one go and put it back on the tray, just in time to receive in his arms Albus who was running towards him, closely tailed by the leaping little black dragon.

- "Granddaddy, look! Toothless can almost fly when he jumps high enough."

The old man kissed the child snuggled against him and reached for the animal. The dragon tilted his head and chewed the inside of his mouth as he often did. His golden and green eyes stared at the man for a while, then he came closer in dancing steps, his tail like an Ace of Spades sweeping in shining powder snow.

He sniffed the fingers, licked the sugar on the old thumb.

- "He likes you", Albus said proudly.

- "I see that. Hello, Toothless. Are you having fun?"

- Yeaaaah.

Mr. Weasley tousled the black curls of the little boy.

- "I wasn't talking to _you_! Hey, Al. Would you let me take a picture of him?"

He exchanged a glance with his daughter and daughter-in-law, above the head of the child.

- "I'd like to send it to your Uncle Charlie."

Albus nodded.

- "'Kay. But can you take one with me, too?"

- "Of course."

- "GRAAAAAND-DAAAAADDYYYY!"

He laughed and stood up, taking Albus' hand.

- "Let's go before your sister and your cousin scare all the birds in the neighborhood."

Ginny watched them go, then accepted the steaming cup of tea Hermione was giving her.

- "When's Harry coming back?" she sighed. "Al is getting more and more attached to that thing. If we need to send it away, it'll be an even worse tragedy ..."

Hermione twirled her wand to help herself with milk and sugar, and to turn her spoon in the blue porcelain cup.

- "If it doesn't grow bigger, it'll be fine", she said thoughtfully. "It doesn't bite, neither spit fire ..."

- "And what if it becomes huge? What will happen the day Albus goes to Hogwarts?" Ginny cut in a sharp tone. "Charlie once said some dragons live to be a hundred! Do you picture it, sitting on the roof of the train, trying to make smoke rings? Do you really believe they'd let him sleep in a dormitory or attend the classes with Al? Even if the teachers would agree, the students will surely be afraid of it. I don't want my son to be left aside like Hagrid was! Hermione, I thought at least _you_ would get the point! It's just crazy to adopt it!"

Hermione put her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

- "We'll find a solution", she said firmly. "One thing at a time. Don't worry."

In the garden, Mr. Weasley had knelt on one knee in front of the five children clinging to each other by the shoulders and the little dragon sitting in the snow, his dark wings hanging on each side of his chubby belly.

- "Say "cheeeeese" ... James, _stop_. Hugo, don't move anymore..."

The flash crackled with sparks when he pressed the button.

Toothless' green and golden eyes widened and he jumped, opening his mouth wide.

There was a short muffled sound, an orange glow like a flash, and the camera caught fire.

Mr. Weasley immediately dropped it and covered it with snow he pushed with his shoes, quickly imitated by James and Hugo. The little girls had covered their faces with their gloves and trembled in their velvet overcoats.

Rosie finally looked from under her pink fur toque.

- "What happened, Granddaddy?" she asked nervously.

Lily pulled on the red braids that came out her pistachio wool cap.

- "It sounded just like a fart", she said.

Mr. Weasley took off his cap and scratched his balding head.

- "I wonder ..."

- "It's because your camera is an antic", James said, shrugging. "You ought to buy another ..."

- "Where's the picture?" asked Hugo who had managed to put snow mixed with soot on his dotted with freckles face.

- "What happened? Why the smoke?" called the mothers from the swing.

Since they did not get an answer, they got up and walked towards the group.

- "Toothless ..."

Albus' plaintive voice got the attention of the old man. The back of the boy was turned to them as he crouched in front of something.

- "Toothless, you okay?"

Mr. Weasley walked over and leaned over the head of his grandson. He suppressed a smile and put his hand on the child's shoulder.

- "I think he's fine", he said gently.

On the white snow, the head of the stunned and motionless little dragon was drawn out perfectly, bristled like a cartoon character, his black hair stiff and his muzzle covered with dark powder.

James and Hugo burst in laughter, but the little girls knelt aside him worriedly.

- "Poor Toothless", Rosie said, patting his head.

- "Here, Toothless, take this", Lily added with compassion, handing him a chocolate candy wrapped in silver.

- "Don't give him that, you'll make him sick", protested Albus, his eyes full of tears.

He leaned over and took the animal in his arms, combed the dark fur without paying attention to the low growl trembling down the creature's spine.

- " Be careful ..." whispered Mr. Weasley, a little worried. "Since he got scared, he may scratch you without doing it on purpose."

The little dragon sneezed and squirmed to escape the child. He climbed on his shoulder, sniffed and cocked his head to one side.

- "What happened, Dad?" Ginny asked.

- "Was that a New Year's eve firecracker?" Hermione asked. "Children, is anyone hurt?"

- "Toothless did _pshiiit_ and – _boom"_, Lily told them.

Her aunt raised an eyebrow.

- "What?"

- "James, what have you done again?" Ginny started, turning to her son.

- "_Nothing_, Mum!" the boy protested, offended. "It was Granddad!"

- "Well, well, well" exclaimed a mocking voice behind them. "If it's Granddad who misbehaves, now, what will happen to the world we live in?"

Everyone turned around.

Ron was there, his hands on his hips, his red hair gleaming in the winter sun, a wide smile on his face.

Behind him came Harry, with a stack of books so high he couldn't see anything in front of him, and Neville who was wearing his herbalist white coat on top of his school robes.

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued…<em>**


	4. Neville's theory

Albus jumped as far as he could, swinging his arms. He sank in the snow up to his knees and the red tassels of his scarf, that were matching his cap, fluttered happily.

- "Your turn, Toothless!" he called, waving his mitten.

In his snow hole, the dragon squirmed, tongue out between his small sharp teeth. He jumped suddenly and landed deep in the prints left by the little boy.

Only his fluffy black ears and the angled bone of its wings were still popping out.

Albus chuckled.

- "I can see you, silly!"

Around them, the plain looked like a sea of white cream under the pure blue sky, on which the two houses were sailing by an island of trees.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Neville leaned back in the armchair and joined his hands thoughtfully.<p>

- "What do you think, then?" Harry asked, sitting down in front of him after a last glance out the window.

Outside, James, Hugo and Ron were playing tag, howling like Yankees. Upstairs, Rosie and Lily had installed a dinette on the carpet and were chatting of ogres and harpies as if they were discussing the weather, while sipping hot milk.

Hermione was on the stairs with her fourth cup of tea and Arthur Weasley was sitting next to Harry on the sofa.

Ginny, standing near the sink, was wiping her hands with the dishcloth.

There were open books everywhere, on the floor, the buffet, the cushions, and the table disappeared under a ton of scrolls.

Neville finally decided to speak.

- "There's one last thing we haven't considered yet", he said slowly.

- "Magical Creature, manifestation of Albus' powers, enchanted cat, unknown dragon... what's left?" Ginny asked, frowning.

Harry took off his glasses and began to wipe them, frustrated.

Hermione took a sip of tea, staring at Neville.

- "I think I know what you're thinking of", she said.

- "What is it, now?"

Harry had turned to her so suddenly his glasses fell on the floor and broke with a crystalline sound.

- "Oh, Harry", Ginny whispered.

Her husband took a deep breath.

They were exhausted. _Simply exhausted, that's all_. They had sought Albus everywhere, been worried to death, had barely slept, and this riddle was getting on their nerves.

Hermione stood up calmly. She picked up the glasses and pointed her wand at them.

- "_Reparo_."

The glass pieces danced in the air and assembled again. The young brunette smiled as she gave back the object to Harry.

- "It's been a while", she said.

He relaxed and smiled back.

- "It's been a while, indeed."

He put back the glasses on his nose and turned to Neville.

- "Go ahead", he said in a gentler voice.

Neville cleared his throat.

- "What if it was an _animagus_?"

Mr. Weasley leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the young teacher.

- "But Harry hasn't managed to disenchant it, though."

Ginny moved closer and perched on the arm of the chair. Harry took her hand, listening intently.

- "Doesn't mean it couldn't be!" Neville said. His slender hands were gesturing excitedly as he explained his theory. "Magic is in continuous evolution, as we know. Dumbledore noticed it when he found the love of your mother was a shield to you, Harry. Who says _this_ is not a form of magic just bigger than the usual spell you need to disenchant something? An animagus with such a strange shape could come from anywhere. "

- "But why did he come to Albus, then?" Ginny cried, wringing her hands. "Who is _he_? Why now? What does he want?"

- "Wait a minute, I never said it _was_ an animagus. I only said we shouldn't toss away this possibility", protested Neville, a little panicked.

Hermione crossed her arms and put her chin forward, like in those early days when she still had to prove to the two boys her ideas were _very intelligent_ but _viable_.

- "If it's an animagus, we'll soon know about it", she said firmly.

- "_How_?" asked plaintively Ginny.

- "It simply won't grow up", said Arthur Weasley, flashing a reassuring smile at his daughter.

Hermione nodded.

- "If it's not the case, then we know it's definitely not a metamorphosed cat, so we'll eventually find what kind of magical creature it is, dragon or other", she added.

Neville nodded vigorously.

- "And if it's Albus' plush toy, it will disappear by itself when it's no longer needed", said Harry, standing up and taking his wife in his arms. "All will be fine, Ginny."

She closed her eyes, then opened them and turned to the window.

- "Meanwhile, I don't want to lose sight of him even once", she whispered.

In the plain, Albus had stopped jumping, out of breath.

The little dragon fought his way through the snow and came to him, snuggling his head under the boy's armpit, cooing softly as if he was worried about him. The child picked it up, sliding gently his mittens under the long black wings, and kissed the little black truffle.

- "Hey, Toothless", he whispered. "When are you going to fly?"

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Ron shrugged, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. His breath condensed in small transparent scrolls.<p>

- "I don't understand why Ginny was making such a big deal out of it, but... at least, she should feel better now we know it's not the case."

His eyes watching his son playing farther in the white plain, Harry sighed.

- "She still bears the scar of her experience with Tom Riddle's diary", he said. "Imagine giving all your secrets to whom you believe is an inanimate best friend only to discover one day he was an actual living being who was trying to manipulate you. I can understand a bit. I got bummed when I discovered the potions book full of good advice belonged to Snape... "

Ron smirked.

- "Hermione had warned you", he chuckled.

Harry smiled.

- "And Severus Snape wasn't our enemy, in the end ..."

They got lost in memories for a while, not saying anything. Even years after, the tragic end of the professor who had dedicated his life to protect Harry remained painful as a cut.

- "Anyway, it's good for Al that his mother is a little reassured", Ron resumed, breaking the silence. "Ginny was quite the daredevil when she was a kid, but she's turned into a scaredy cat, now."

He furrowed his nostril, looking a bit vexed, and scratched his red beard.

- "Hermione too."

It was Harry's turn to laugh.

- "We grew older, they became mothers. It changes people, Ron!"

- "Yes, but still."

Ron stretched his arms above his head and yawned widely.

- "In any case, me, at the age of Al, I would have loved to have a pet dragon instead of that old ghoul without interest."

- "Not what you were saying when we were in _Caring for Magical Creatures_ course..." Harry corrected between high and low. Then he added: "In any case, I hope Toothless isn't going to keep up like this, otherwise we will have another problem very quickly."

Ron nodded gravely.

- "Sure, man."

In the plain covered with snow, a delighted Albus was racing with the dragon – who was winning effortlessly.

In the morning, they had found he was now almost as big as the child.

During the night, his thighs had grown muscular, his neck long, and something like a punk tiara made of fur was cresting straight in the middle of his forehead. His jaws were wider, but his cute ears and round eyes still gave him the look of a surprised kitten.

Albus had not find it weird, when he had awaken, to see the dragon now twice as big as the day before curled up at the end of his bed, his ace of spades shaped tail dragging on the floor, a powerful purr in his throat.

The wings had also developed, but they seemed now more appropriate to the size of the creature. They were deploying slightly as she jumped in the snow like a huge ebony panther.

- "Come on, Toothless!" Albus cried, panting. "Fly!"

The dragon turned his head to the boy in between two bounces, his tongue hanging out as if he was laughing, and crashed in a mound of snow a second later. The child laughed and ran to him in the deep snow.

- "Coming to the rescue!" he sing sang, pulling on Toothless' tail to help him out of the white powdery mound.

The dragon sat up and shook his body, splattering snow everywhere. Its fur swelled.

He gave a lick to the gasping child, who was leaning against him to catch his breath.

Albus stretched out his arms.

- "Put your wings that way, see. Vroooom and you fly away!"

Its punk crest disheveled and his eyes fluttering, Toothless sneezed, not interested a little.

Albus ran in circles around him, jumping and waving his arms.

- "Hop in the sky! Don't you want to fly?" he asked, stopping when the pinch in his lungs became too painful.

The dragon chewed on air with a supremely bored look.

Albus pouted.

- "_Toothless"_, he scolded.

A loving lick swept his face in response.

The boy wiped his face with a crystalline laugh. He jumped to the animal's neck and both rolled into the snow soft like a mattress. Albus was the first to get up again. Sprawled against the chubby belly of the dragon, he stroke the fluffy throat until it started to purr.

Two small bluish clouds of smoke sallied out of the nostrils of the creature who had its head blissfully thrown back in the snow.

- "Toothless ... _I love you_", whispered the child.

Then he coughed and covered his mouth with his other hand as he had been taught.

Something was scraping again inside his chest, like a pincushion stuck under his diaphragm.

The dragon cooed, looking up worriedly as the crisis did not subside.

The sun was high in the blue sky above their heads. It The weather was beautiful, today, again. The snow sparkled around them, in a dazzling white.

The black dragon curled around the child to keep him warm.

- "Oh", Albus whispered, looking in the palm of his hand when the coughing fit finally stopped.

* * *

><p><strong><em>TBC<em>**


	5. Fly, dragon, fly !

Ginny sighed, leaning over to tuck up the quilt.

- "No, Albus", she said gently but firmly. "You can't go out to play. Tomorrow, if you feel better."

The child's eyes, bright with fever, were pleading, and his mouth showed the cutest pout of the universe, but she did not give in.

- "I said _no_", she repeated. "So you stay in bed and you have a good sleep, okay? Tomorrow will come faster like this, you'll see."

- "But Mummy ..."

- "Uh-uh."

She kissed him, then put back the wet cold cloth on his forehead.

- "Sleep tight, honey."

She left the room after a pat on the nose of the dragon who now occupied half the room and closed the door before leaning against it.

The tender smile she had shown her son sank and disappeared. Her throat tight, she looked up at Harry who had been waiting, leaning against the corridor wall, his arms folded.

- "The fever didn't go down", she whispered. "Oh, Harry ... what are we going to do?"

The young man shook his head sadly.

- "I don't know, Ginny", he said softly. "I don't know ..."

Ginny's heart broke as she heard the child coughing on the other side of the door.

It had been three days already.

Albus had come back home, puzzled and a little frightened, showing his mother the blood clot in his little fist.

- "Inside, it feels like the owl when he choked", he had explained in clumsy words.

As if small claws were hooked his windpipe, ripping the thin walls in his lungs.

The dragon was hovering about him, his green and golden eyes worried, cooing softly as if he was sad.

A St. Mungo, the healer had frowned and muttered throughout the whole exam. Albus had complained about his cold hands but swallowed the bitter potions without a fuss, and had finally fallen asleep in his father's arms while another wizard multiplied diagnostic spells, without result.

They had been told to go back home with him. At the _Burrow_, Albus, had played happily for a moment with Toothless whose weight was shaking the stairs as he ran up and down. The little boy seemed much better. Then, while Ginny was preparing supper, James had come in panic: "Mum, Al spit and that's all red! It is disgusting."

She had found Lily in the process of giving a drink to her brother in a plastic cup from her Muggle dinette, the dragon lying on the carpet guiltily and Albus whose face was smeared with blood and who could not catch his breath.

And two day after, Albus had stopped eating. His legs couldn't carry him anymore and brown shadows were digging under his eyes, as if he was eaten from the inside.

- "What did they say?" finally asked the young woman, brushing back her red hair, her lips trembling.

She already knew the answer. Harry would not have been so silent if his visit had been fruitful.

- "They don't know", he finally whispered. "They said he's ..."

She shook her head to prevent him from finishing his sentence.

The words were too unbearable to hear, too meaningless, too unreal.

- "All was fine, three days ago", she whispered hoarsely. "We were fine until ..."

It had started the same evening they had condemned the plush toy. The night Albus had disappeared.

_The night the dragon had showed up in their lives._

Ginny's eyes narrowed into thin slits.

- "I knew it wasn't something good", she hissed, her hand on the latch, ready to go back in the room and to chase out the animal.

Harry put his hand on his wife's and shook his head slowly.

- "I asked them", he said. "I brought a hairball, I explained. It has nothing to do with the dragon, Ginny. I promise. He's ... Al is just sick, Ginny. Maybe ... he'll get over it, my love. He's strong. Children have an amazing capacity for recovery. He ..."

The words were rushing out, jostling in his mouth, but failing to convince him. Tears now flowed without restraint on Ginny's cheeks and Harry hoped he would be able to hold his own long enough for the young woman to regain control of her emotion.

- "Mum?"

They turned their heads to the concerned voice and Ginny wiped her cheeks quickly.

- "What is it, James?" she asked, kneeling before him and giving him a tight smile meant to be reassuring.

- "Is Al going to die?"

Harry's heart froze so suddenly his breath was cut for a few seconds, then he swallowed and leaned toward their son. He stroked his head with one hand, while with the other pressed Ginny's shoulder to help her stay strong.

The acute squeak that had strangled the woman was not likely to reassure the eight year old boy who was staring at them with very serious eyes.

- "Al will be okay in a couple days, he just caught a cold, that's all", Harry lied with an aplomb that surprised himself. "And your mum's tired, that's why she takes it to heart. Don't worry, James."

James bit his lips. The curly red head of his sister appeared behind him. The little girl was tugging at her brother's sweater.

- "Are we going to eat soon, then?"

Harry and Ginny exchanged a guilty look.

It was past noon. Time had seemed diluted, colorless and without landmarks for them during those three days. But James and Lily needed them too.

Harry picked up Lily who tied her arms around his neck and Ginny took James' hand.

- "Yes", she said in a choked voice that strengthened gradually as she spoke. "Yes, we should eat, you're right. You must be starving!"

- "I'm hungry as a werewolf!" nodded James who, after some hesitation, had decided to believe the unsteady smiles of his parents.

- "Hungry as a farting werewolf", insisted Lily, delighted to be able to place her favorite word without being scolded. "Can I give Toothless his fish, later, Mummy?"

They went down to the kitchen and their voices gradually faded away in the corridor.

Albus snuggled into his pillows, giving up following the conversation. The idea of eating was tiring and he felt a little nauseous.

He turned his head to the dragon and smiled.

His face was almost as white as the pillow, but his emerald green eyes were tinged with glittery gold, much like those of the animal who was approaching, purring.

Toothless' wings filled the room like long black satin draperies and his thick velvet paws were now almost as big as James' Quidditch ball. The dragon put his head on the comforter and closed his eyes in pleasure when the child scratched the fur on top of his nose. His fluffy ears were fluttering and his tail undulated with contentment on the ground.

- "Toothless ... do you want to fly?"

The dragon opened one eye and licked the face of the child who struggled with a laugh.

- "Ah, it sticks!"

He stopped fighting for fun very quickly, shaken by a coughing fit.

The dragon cooed, pushing his muzzle against his arm.

- "S-s-sorry", Albus finally said, wiping his mouth on his pajamas' sleeve.

He hugged the dragon's neck, buried his face in the soft black fur.

- "Toothless ... take me to the sky, please."

The dragon purred louder, her green eyes fixed on the window through which the sun came in waves. He suddenly freed his head, ears erected as if he had heard something.

- "What did you see, Toothless?" Albus asked, also turning his head to the window.

The wet cloth fell from his forehead when he slipped out of the boat-shaped bed. He tiptoed to the window, opened it and gazed at the vast sky, so blue, in which reflected the plain covered with snow. He was just in pajamas and shivered. He sank against the dragon who had approached behind him.

The dark wing folded around him, creating a warm cocoon of ebony feathers.

Albus coughed again. He held out his hand, reaching to the sky, watching how the sun tinted his fingers against the light.

- "I want to go there, Toothless."

The dragon cooed in reproach. The child's eyes grew round and pleading, his lips curled into an irresistible pout.

The dragon raised his eyes, just like a human would have done, and gave an impulse to the little boy who lost his balance.

A second later, Albus, delighted, was sitting on the dragon's neck, grabbing two tufts of fur.

- "Off we go!"

The animal put both front paws on the window sill and his ace of spades shaped tail undulated behind him. He slipped out swiftly and effortlessly scaled the wall of the house to the pointed roof. Standing on the tiles sprinkled with snow, he hesitated, his head turned towards the sun, then stretched.

Albus felt the power circulating in the backbone of the beast, like a bubbling stream that was sweeping in the muscles. The huge black wings swelled like two sails and the claws sparked on the tiles.

He opened his mouth, and just the day when Arthur Weasley had tried to take the picture, a blue light flashed under his glottis. There was a crunch followed by a deafening hiss, then something broke in the sky, like a silver comet.

The next moment, the whole world froze between time and space.

Lying on the black neck, Albus opened an eye.

He first saw the huge black wing, barely touched down by the wind, the tips of the feathers on which clung cloud filaments. Then he heard the dragon's purr, looked up and saw the vastness around him.

On the wind bathed in golden sun, the dragon was flying in the sky.

He was even bigger than before.

- "Oooh", breathed out Albus.

His eyes crinkled because of the speed. He let go of the soft black fur and stretched out his arms, throwing his head back.

- "Fly Toothless, fly!" he shouted.

The dragon cooed as if he laughed softly.

_Oh I will, Little One. Just watch me._

Albus looked around in surprise, then leaned toward the dragon's head.

- "Can you speak?"

The green and gold eye of the dragon blinked benevolently.

_I can._

The child's face lit up in awe.

- "Oooh", he repeated.

Laughter hatched in the harmonious silence of the sky, like a song.

_Aren't you cold?_

Albus patted the black neck.

- "No. How about you?"

_I have a big fur - and you're just wearing pajamas, Little One._

The child giggled.

- "True."

_Let's go back now. You must rest._

- "Oh no! Not yet, please, dragon."

His teeth were chattering, but the dream could not stop now. He wanted to touch the stars, see if he could win a race against the steam train that took Teddy to Hogwarts, visit unicorns, land on a volcano.

_Volcanoes don't smell too good, you know. And I thought you called me Toothless ..._

Albus smiled, lying on the back of the creature, close to the skin under which he felt the pulsing heart of the dragon, warm and powerful.

- "Thank you, 'he whispered.

The dragon made a graceful turn in the blue sky and returned to the house, his wings flapping slowly, like a lullaby.

When he landed in the garden, the little boy had fallen asleep.

Harry and Ginny ran out of the house towards him. The young woman snatched the child from the beautiful creature, and wrapped him in a blanket before running back to the house.

_Everything will be fine, mother ..._

Harry stopped and spun around, sure to have heard a voice. He looked at the dragon, frowning, stared at the green and golden eyes for a moment, then went back inside at last.

The sun was melting into carmine and indigo draperies, and the pale moon was slowly rising over the plain covered with snow.

Between the _Burrow_ and the house with a pointed roof, the huge black dragon was standing motionless, gazing at the dying day.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_


	6. Fire Rain

- "Granddaddy?"

Arthur Weasley looked up and ran a hand over his face to dismiss the torpor that benumbed him.

- "Yes, Al?"

He smiled at the little boy curled up in the big pillow and took the small hand laying on the sheet.

- "Did you sleep well? Do you want something?"

_Your hand is so cold ..._

Albus' green eyes, fringed with long dark lashes, seemed immense in his pale face. His lips were chapped and the wheezing in his breath was something difficult even to hear.

- "Where's Mummy?"

Arthur patted the messy black curls.

- "She's at the _Burrow_, with Lily and James and Granny. She'll come later. Are you thirsty?"

Albus shook his head. He looked around him.

- "And Daddy?"

- "He's outside with Uncle Ron", patiently answered the old man while helping the child to sit and giving him his medicine anyway.

The little boy took a sip, then began to cough, feeling nauseous again. Arthur settled him back against the pillow and rubbed his grandson's chest, slowly, until the end of the fit.

- "Your hand is warm", Albus said when he caught his breath, with an air of deep contentment.

_But _you_ are freezing, while the fever consumes you._

- "Toothless?"

Arthur turned on his chair in the direction of the dragon.

- "There he is."

The creature was now the size of a locomotive and Harry had had magically expand the room for the dragon to be able to come in. But Hermione had been the one suggesting the idea to add the magic ceiling on which thousands of stars twinkled.

Her lips pursed, Ginny had not given her thought on that, and it had been Ron, with his usual clumsiness, who had said out loud what the others didn't even dare to think.

_"If Al is never going to Hogwarts, at least he will have seen this once in his life ..."_

Mr. Weasley was trying to keep hope. He refused to think of his daughter going through the same pain her parents had had to face with Fred's death. As for Molly, she was as talkative as Ginny was silent. She drowned them in a constant flood of words, cooked tons of food and played with the children - Rose and Hugo too had ended up at the _Burrow_.

Arthur knew she was doing it to hide her anguish and her grief. Hermione and Ron took turns beside Harry, making sure he'd rest from time to time.

Ginny, when she was not under the influence of a calming potion, was in her son's bedroom and held him in her arms – and this was the reason why they had been reduced to drug her. Her fear and sorrow scared Albus and she wouldn't let him sleep quietly.

Plus, her animosity towards the dragon was so dense the stars would darken on the magic ceiling.

It had been six days now, since the night when the plush toy had been abandoned in the grove of trees. Some of the healers had said Albus' disease had perhaps been awakened because of the trauma, but most claimed it had no connection with it, and that only cold and snow had been be triggers.

All of them agreed on three things, however.

_Nothing could have prevented the child from getting sick._

_It was useless to keep him at St. Mungo because no treatment was possible._

_Albus was going to die. It was only a matter of time._

- "Are you crying, Granddaddy?" asked the little boy, reaching out to touch the old skin dotted with freckles.

Arthur shook his head with a smile.

- "No, I have eye crusts, that's all. It happens when one is my age."

- "Ah ..."

The dragon stood up and came closer to the bed, diverting the child's attention with perfect timing. He gently lay his black head on the comforter, let his beard be grabbed, blew tenderly when small fists dug into his large nostrils. He pulled away slowly, picked up the child in the crook of his wing and climbed along the wooden pillar that supported the ceiling to a high beam on which he settled.

_That_ was what drove Ginny crazy. From there, the two friends were unapproachable, perched among the stars.

Arthur did not try to stop him. He had seen how the creature was careful and knew she took great care of her fragile cargo.

The dragon curled his paws under his fluffy craw and folded his long neck to watch over the child nestled inside his wing. His Ace of Spades shaped tail swung lazily under the beam, blurring the magical stars like petals floating on water.

Albus was talking to him and, as often, it looked like a conversation. Except the answers of the other speaker were inaudible.

Mr. Weasley sighed. First, they had thought the fever made the child believe he heard Toothless speak, but he was beginning to think that the bond between Albus and the dragon was much deeper, much more mysterious then appearances were making it look.

Someone quietly knocked on the door and he got up to open.

- "Dad?"

His eyes widened in surprise.

- "_Charlie_? What are you doing here?"

Harry, who was standing next to the stocky red-haired man, let go of a bitter snort.

- "He came back from Romania earlier than planned, to give you a surprise, and he found the _Burrow_ in this _state_."

Charlie nodded, preoccupied.

- "How's Albus?" he asked, looking at the empty bed in front of him.

Arthur pointed at the magical ceiling.

- "With Toothless on his branch", Harry sighed. "To think we wanted to ask you about the creature ... it's no longer our priority..."

Charlie threw his neck back, scanning the enchanted sky over them. He discovered the shadow of the huge dragon curled up on the wood that creaked a little and frowned.

- "By Merlin, what on Earth is _this_ ..." he muttered.

The jade eyes split with gold opened in the glittering darkness and the dragon's gaze dived into him.

_I was waiting for you, Scaler._

Charlie shivered violently.

- "You okay?" Arthur asked, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

He didn't want his son to be weak in Harry's presence. The family needed to be strong to support Albus' parents.

Charlie blinked, stunned.

- "He talked to me", he dropped softly.

- "What?"

Arthur was frowning, but a glance at Harry surprised him more than the super sensitive reaction from the one of his sons who usually showed to be the bravest.

The young man was staring at his brother-in-law with intensity.

- "You heard him ?" he blew.

- "You too?" Charlie whispered. "Right now?"

Harry shook his head.

- "No, another day. Like a voice in my head ..."

Arthur did not like that at all.

- "Hearing voices, it was never good to anyone, Harry, 'he said reproachfully. "You're tired - Charlie, you too, after such a long journey. You probably..."

- "Wait a minute, Dad", interrupted the red-haired man, raising a hand and making a step towards the pillar in the middle of the room. "I wonder if ..."

From the beam, the dragon was still looking at him.

_You're right, Scaler._

The voice was born in his head like a distant echo, smooth and powerful at a time.

_Now you have to tell them ..._

Charlie swallowed. He turned to Harry and Arthur and his face became serious.

- "There's something I must tell you. First to you, Harry. _Alone_. Then to all of you."

Harry felt a chill run down his spine.

_Fear not, father._

The voice wrapped him with warmth and the discomfort subsided to this contact.

He looked up and met the eye of the dragon. After some hesitation, he nodded.

He didn't get an answer, neither a sign he was understood, but he was sure of it now.

_Albus was not delirious_. This was the voice of the dragon and his son, in one way or another, communicated with the creature.

In the hollow of the black wing, the little boy with the wheezing breath had fallen asleep again. He was dreaming of a wonderful boat sailing over the clouds next to a flying dragon, and thousands of bright stars were falling in golden rain around them, like a silent fireworks that had no end.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Charlie folded his hands behind his back and paced in the room. Then undid his fingers nervously entwined and stopped. He blew away a red wisp that fell over his nose and cleared his throat.<p>

In front of him, they were all squeezed against each other on the sofa. Ginny was between Harry and her father, Ron was shoulder against shoulder with his best friend, Molly and Hermione were holding hands. Neville was the only one in the yellow armchair.

At the _Burrow_, the children were sleeping, cousins all jumbled in the grandparents' bed.

Upstairs, the dragon was watching on Albus, alone.

- "Come on, Charlie, speak" Ron said. "Why did you gather all of us in here? And what's Neville doing here?"

His brother nibbled his lips.

- "We will need his knowledge of botany", he said quickly. "But ... uh. First I must speak of the dragon."

Ginny's eyes sparkled.

- "It's him who caused all this, isn't it? I knew it!"

She made a move to get up, but Harry stopped her.

- "Wait, let him finish."

Charlie nodded.

- "No, on the contrary", he said gravely. "I ... I want to tell you one of our home legends, in Romania."

Nobody said anything, but from the way Molly shook her head, he knew she was thinking "why bother? We don't have time for this ..."

He cleared his throat again and focused on Harry who nodded silently.

- "There's an ancient creature, a dragon that nobody has ever seen - or rather that nobody can describe. It's called the White Shadow, the Healer, sometimes the _dragon-phoenix_, because it is said he lives only to die and give life to another being. They say it appears to children in need when the night cries golden tears ..."

A lump in her throat, Ginny was now staring intently at her brother, her eyes filled with tears. Molly, Arthur and Ron were leaning forward. Hermione was taking quick notes. Neville was listening gravely.

- "We don't know what it looks like, but I think it changes shape according to whom it comes. He ... this _Toothless_ up there, belongs to no known dragon race and looks surprisingly like Albus' plush toy, isn't it?"

He paused, his voice slightly hoarse.

- "I think it is a dragon-phoenix."

- "Is he going to save Al?" Ginny whispered a barely audible voice.

There was a silence so heavy they felt like a lead coat had fallen on their shoulders.

Charlie closed his eyes, then opened them again.

- "I think he precisely come to do that", he said at last."

_You have spoken well, Scaler._

The voice caressed his heart gently.

_Keep going._

Neville raised his hand almost shyly.

- "What will we need to give him in return?" he asked slowly.

Charlie did not answer, his eyes fixed on the window behind the couch.

- "That ... what's the matter?" Harry asked, sitting up and turning around. "Why aren't you ... _oh_."

Ginny and Neville stood up too, gasping, imitated by the others.

- "It's ... beautiful", Molly whispered, clasping her hands on her ample breasts.

Her husband put his arm around her shoulders, very moved. Ron scratched his forehead to compose himself and sought Hermione's hand.

In the cold night, hundreds and hundreds of stars were falling to the earth in flaming raindrops, as if the heaven were crying.

Charlie pulled Harry aside.

- "The Fire Rain always comes the day before the last..." he murmured. "Tomorrow is the key. Are you ready?"

_It will all depend on you, father. Will you have enough strength ?_

Harry closed his eyes and addressed the voice that was gently pulsating inside him.

_Yes, I will._

_To save Albus, I would do anything._

* * *

><p><strong><em>TBC<em>**

**_(The next chapter will also be the last one.)_**


	7. The heart of a dragon

- "Why can't I come with you?" insisted Ginny one last time, as she stood on tiptoe beside the dragon.

Harry did not answer. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

- "We'll be back soon", he assured.

Ginny tucked the blanket around the child settled on her husband's lap.

- "See you soon, Albus", she whispered, placing one last kiss on the pale cheek of the unconscious little boy.

Charlie, who was sitting in front, turned nervously to Harry.

- "We have to leave", he said hoarsly. "The day will soon rise."

A golden and red dawn already cracked out the night on the horizon

- "Be careful", said Arthur Weasley.

- "Be brave, Harry ..." Hermione breathed, even though she didn't know anything more than Ginny – she just could feel something terrible was going happening.

Ron put his right arm around her shoulders - his left arm was already around his mother.

- "Neville, we all count on you", he told the young teacher who was sitting behind Harry and clung to the thick hair of the dragon, looking a bit green.

- 'I d-don't really l-like f-flying", stuttered Neville apologetically. "B-but it-t's okay. I-I've seen worse."

- "We are ready", Charlie said, leaning over the neck of the ancient beast.

The dragon moved away a few steps from the group, then spread his great wings. The wind they caused took away Molly's shawl. Strong muscles and blood vessels rippled under the shiny black leather and the huge creature took off in a cloud of powder snow.

- "Will they get there in time?" Ginny whispered, her sweaty and feverish hands joined on her heart.

- "I don't know ..." said Mr. Weasley, taking his daughter in his arms. "But I want to believe they will, Ginny."

Their silent prayers went up in the ink night while gold slowly hemmed the mountains on the horizon.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Foggy clouds flew next to them like a fluffy and gray river.<p>

Charlie squinted, trying to see before him, but without success. It was a good thing the dragon did not need a guide. The speed was burning the man's eyes and the harsh cold bit his cheeks. Some ice fringed his red hair. Harry was curled around Albus, protecting him best as he could. Behind him, Neville's teeth chattered and his face was purple.

_It's here._

- "We're there!" Charlie yelled over his shoulder as the dragon was beginning its descent.

The huge wings were beating slowly and the clouds opened before them, as if they made a guard of honor. The top of the mountain appeared, tinged with pink and gold, as dawn pierced the sky of brilliant golden rays. The dragon slid skimming along the ridge.

- "Dawn ... oh no. Is it too late?" shivered the botany professor.

_No, there's__ still time. Hurry, earth seeker. Go find what you need to find._

- "Jump off, Neville! Dash, you can still do it!"

Without hesitation, the young professor swung his legs on the same side and slid against the side of the dragon. His fall sent him a roll-rounding on the natural mattresses. He straightened up, a little dizzy, eyebrows and hair cowered with white powder and immediately began to rummage around in the notches of the blue rocks that emerged from the thick layer of snow.

The dragon landed a little further. His powerful claws gripped the ridge of the mountain, and his wings fell back slowly.

- "You all right, Harry?" Charlie asked, a little breathless, turning round. "How's Albus?"

The young man opened the blanket.

- "Still unconscious, but breathing a little better, it seems", he said, relieved.

_We must act quickly__._

Charlie jumped off the dragon and reached out to help Harry down.

- "Where's Neville? We can't start until he ..."

_Here he comes.__ He found what he was searching for._

Harry turned back as he heard calling his name and his heart quickened seeing Neville run towards them among the rocks, wet and out of breath, but beaming.

- "I'VE GOT ONE! HARRY, I FOUND IT! I'VE GOT ONE!

He stumbled as he got near them and would have fallen if Charlie had not caught up his forearm.

- "Look!"

He opened his hand with difficulty – his numb fingers were swollen and purple. Inside his palm was a very delicate flower with white petals veined with gold.

- _Lacrimae__ solis_, Neville whispered, amazed. "One of the rarest plants in the world, which blooms only at dawn in places where air and light are perfectly pure."

Charlie cut short before the young teacher got lost in details only of botanical interest. He bent down, picked up a handful of snow and quickly filled his water bottle before giving it to Neville.

- "Can you make some sort of porridge out of it? Harry, Al needs to swallow this, one way or another.

_Hurry__. If the child falls asleep more deeply, it will not be possible to awake him ..._

The dragon leaned over Harry's shoulder and his nostrils blew tenderly on the precious bundle.

Neville managed to get the bowl and pestle out of his coat pocket without dropping them. He got busy, forgetting he was frozen and his nails were gone from blue to black.

- "Al? Albus, wake up", Harry soflty called, stroking the cheek of the child who barely flinched. "Al, you really need to open your eyes. Listen to Daddy, Al. Come on, son. _Albus_. Albus, wake up, I beg you."

The boy shivered and his mouth opened. His long dark eyelashes fluttered weakly.

- "Al! Hold on, okay ? Good boy, Daddy's proud of you."

Harry looked up and met the benevolent look of the dragon.

_All will be fine__, father._

Charlie turned anxiously towards the professor.

- "Now, Neville!"

Harry pushed the mixture in between the child's lips. The little boy turned his head away and coughed it out with a whimper.

- "Al, please ..."

He exchanged a panicked look with the two other men. Behind them, the sun rose slowly, radiating on the snow.

Time was running away and with it Albus' life.

Harry thought hard for a moment, then reached into the bowl. Before Neville could stop him, he stuffed the porridge in his mouth and chewed it carefully.

Then he spat at the tips of his fingers and tried again to put it in the mouth of the child. Albus whined, too weak to push the hand away. He swallowed a little, began to cough.

- "Again", Harry whispered, tears in his eyes. "Please, Al...Just a little more…"

Albus opened his eyes. His pupils were veiled but he seemed to recognize his father.

Harry took advantage of the fact he was trying to talk to push in a tiny ball of porridge and his joints whitened while the boy swallowed, half choking, big tears overflowing his pale cheeks.

Neville put his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed it.

Charlie was anxiously watching the bowl's level going down and the sun rising up above the clouds. The rays darted on the snow and the sky was tinged with pink silk.

Albus finished to swallow the porridge with a last gasp. There was a drop of blood on the edge of his lips and his body trembled in his father's arms.

- "Okay", Charlie said hoarsely. "Now give him to the dragon."

His heart feeling like ice, Harry lifted the child and held him tight one last time. He kissed the tangled black curls, gently pressed the nape of his son.

-" It won't be long, I promise Al.."

His voice broke.

- "It won't hurt."

The child linked his arms around his neck, trustful.

- "I love you, Daddy ..."

Harry closed his eyes to stop his tears. He breathed deeply, then undid the hug gently and placed the boy in the paw of the black dragon.

_Have faith__, father._

The green and golden eye of the ancient creature passed before his face, full of love.

_Gather__ your courage._

The dragon stood up and the three men fell back, impressed by the majesty that emanated from him. He faced them, standing in the dazzling sun, his huge black wings spread like banners, graciously inclining his long neck.

A very old and very powerful creature, whose beauty was matched only by her kindness.

_Now__, scaler._

Charlie took a deep breath.

- "Come on, Neville", he stammered, dragging the professor lower on the ridge. "We can't stay here."

- "But ... Harry…" protested the young man.

The man shook his head, ruffling his red hair.

- "Harry must do it alone."

They walked away and did not stop until the silhouette of Harry was not higher than that of a child in front of the huge dragon. Charlie sat down in the snow and buried his face in his hands.

- "Can't we watch?" Neville asked. His teeth were chattering.

- "Believe me, you don't want to see", whispered the other man. "Harry is going to kill Albus, Neville."

* * *

><p><em>Daddy ...<em>

_Yes,__ Al?_

_Do__n't worry, Daddy._

_I love you__, Albus._

* * *

><p>Harry pulled out his wand from his pocket and tightened his trembling fingers on the thin wooden stick.<p>

- "Can't we save him otherwise?"

_No,__ father. This is the only way._

- "Are you ... will you really ... how can I be sure that you ... Promise me you'll bring him back!"

Ice clung to the young man's black hair and fog had formed over his glasses because of the hot tears streaming down his cheeks without restraint.

_I promise__._

Harry gasped, a sound that sounded like a broken laughter or a cry of pain.

- "I thought I'd never have to use this spell!"

_I know._

He wiped his mouth with a quick movement. He had bitten his lip and a little warm blood was running down his chin.

_You died__ once to save a world, Harry. To kill the man who left you that scar._

- "I had no choice! I don't want Albus to ..."

His voice broke.

_This scar will be different. Your son will not bear a cursed seal. And he will live._

- "But you're going to die, dragon."

The gold in the jade eyes gave them a strange expression, as if they were laughing.

_Don't worry__, father._

His voice was warm and filled with love.

_Do what__ you must do._

Harry swallowed hard. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. His body was not hurting any longer. It seemed to him he was not really there, not really standing in the icy snow on top of a mountain haloed by the rising sun.

He raised his wand.

In front of him, the little boy opened his big green eyes, nestled in the black fur. He looked around him, seemed to recognize his father and smiled.

Harry's heart broke into a million pieces when the spell flew like a comet.

- "_Avada__ kedavra_!"

A green glow - the body of his son shaken by a jolt.

Then everything disappeared.

The mountains, the sky, the black dragon with his wings like boat sails, the last look of the child.

Everything became white.

Empty.

Silent.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>A crystalline laughter.<p>

_Clear, happy__. The carefree laughter of a child._

Harry opened his eyes and saw running towards him a little boy with thick black curls, his green eyes sparkling with life in the casket of his long dark eyelashes. He was holding a small ebony dragon, whose chubby belly was bouncing against his legs.

- "Daddy! Toothless ate a whole fish all by himself!"

The baby dragon had a look of supreme resignation. He gave a sigh which shuddered his silver whiskers. His golden split green eyes were looking straight at Harry as if he was waiting for a helping hand.

* * *

><p><em>An enthusiastic yepee and the smell of adventure and challenge.<em>

Harry turned round.

The kid with green eyes was surfing on the clouds, standing on the back of a young black dragon whose wings were beating foward with strength and boldness. They were perfectly synchronized, leaning and turning on currents as if the whole sky was theirs.

The boy smiled and waved his hand without losing his balance.

- "Dad! Look at me! Don't you think with Toothless and I, James and Lily, Hugo and Rose and Teddy, we could be a Quidditch team all by ourselves? We could win the world cup!"

The dragon snorted his approval. Its ace of spades shaped tail swept some of the stars, and they mingled with the mist trail that followed the two friends.

* * *

><p>Harry closed his eyes. He did not know if he was dead or if he was dreaming.<p>

He opened his eyes and gasped when he saw a young man coming towards him with feline grace, running a hand casually in his thick black curls. A big smile on his face, he walked confidently and his green eyes shone with a golden glow, full of tenderness.

- "Hey, Dad. Did you wait a long time for me?"

He was handsome and gave off majestic strenght, but it was his eyes that Harry could not break away from.

_Eyes full of kindness and gentleness._

Behind him, coming out in the foggy light, followed a huge dragon holding his head royally, his wings opened large, a satin sheen on his ebony fur.

* * *

><p><em>Albus<em>_ will not remember me, or what you did._

_But__ he will not forget._

_One day__ you will see, father. One day ..._

* * *

><p>Harry opened his mouth to ask thousands of questions to the voice which was vanishing with an echo, but he was slipping out of unconsciousness and the sensations of cold and pain were returning in his members.<p>

- "Harry! Harry, wake up. Merlin's beard, Harry! Come back to your senses!"

He opened his eyes.

He was still on the snow-covered mountain. Charlie and Neville were kneeling on each side of him, their noses red, their faces exhausted, looking like they had seriously lost their minds.

- "Oh, Harry, you ... you ..." babbled Neville, pausing to blow on his fingers, completely confused.

Charlie ran his hands over his face and inhaled deeply.

- "Harry, it was amazing. I've heard it lots of times, but I would have never imagined... This light ..."

- "BOOM! An explosion of light!" Neville interrupted feverishly. "It was ... it was crazy! _Beautiful_! Wicked!"

Harry's head was pounding. He sat painfully, looked around, blinking to get used to the unbearable glare of the sun that reflected on the snow. He found out he still had his wand in hand and everything swept back into his memory.

- "Al!"

He stood up abruptly and swayed on his feet, immediately supported by the other two.

- "Albus?"

He tightened his fist on the thin wooden stick that had opened fire on his own son and slowly approached what was shining so bright at the top of the mountain.

In a golden and warm cocoon floating in the air, the little boy was sleeping peacefully. Harry could see the regular breath lifting the torso of the child. His cheeks had perked up, his dark hair looked shiny and soft as before.

He walked to the bubble of light very slowly and held out his arms. Gently, Albus' body was laid against him while the light was fading away. He stroked the face of the little boy, his so sweet skin, the funny turned-up nose, the long eyelashes, the hemmed mouth smiling in his slumber.

- "Al ... Al, you're _alive_ ..."

Charlie nodded vigorously, too moved to find words.

Neville put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

- "It was a very ancient magic, too powerful for such a fragile vessel", he whispered. "But magic so beautiful it could be contained in what was most pure ..."

He opened a bit the child's shirt and Harry saw the scar printed on the torso of the little boy. A golden glow was still pulsing gently through the mark in the form of a snow flower. It faded away after a few minutes, but the body remained warm and peaceful, nestled against Harry's chest.

Then Albus opened his eyes and smiled. He held out his chubby little hand and touched his father's cheek.

- "Daddy?"

It was then Harry knew he was saved.

* * *

><p>oOoOoOo<p>

* * *

><p>Ginny was asleep in the chair next to the boat-shaped bed, holding the hand of the little boy.<p>

Albus did not understand why all these attentions and giggled happily when the adults took him in their arms to suddenly hug him or put him on their shoulders in a burst of gratitude and joy.

James and Lily made no mention of their brother's illness, as if the last seven days had never existed for them either.

The grown-up remembered Toothless, but they did not speak of him, so they too would eventually forget. Only Neville and Charlie knew what had really happened on the mountain and they had swear to keep the secret buried deep.

Harry knew it couldn't be otherwise but he was still ashamed to go with the flow of their peaceful routine. He was ashamed there was no song, no story, no stone with words engraved on it.

He was ashamed to keep quiet about the sacrifice of the dragon and to let it slowly sink to the bottom of his memories.

_But nothing has__ been forgotten._

He jumped when he heard the voice inside of his head as he was standing next to the window, gazing at the stars twinkling on the plain. The snow was melting slowly and flowers had started to grow.

_One day,__ father._

_One day you'll see._

What will become of Albus Severus Potter.

What a man can do when inside of him burns a brave heart.

_A__ kind and wise heart._

_A__ heart ready to fight and die for those he loves._

_A heart__ pure like one of a child._

_The heart of a__ dragon._


	8. BONUS

**_You guys rock ! You were so wonderful, supporting the story and writing so many coments and reviews ! I felt really blessed and honored._**

**_And I never wanted to let you go ! ^^_**

**_Some also said they didn't get everything, I agree with them !_**

**_They were lots of questions without answers in the end._**

**_So, here is my gift to you..._**

**_This is the beginning of a new adventure : the first lines of the first chapter... of the following story._**

* * *

><p>Albus gave a piece of meat to the white owl perched on his shoulder. She greedily gobbled her reward and rolled her round eyes with a satisfied hooting, before returning to one of the high beams of the aviary.<p>

The boy watched her fly with a smile, then sat on the large arched windows. He lifted one knee, let his other leg dangling outside, slipped the tip of his wand in the corner of the envelope and tore the flap.

His head leaning against the old ancestral stones, he began to read, savoring the tangy breeze that rippled through his thick black hair.

_"Dear Al,_

_Since your mum is not yet back from the ministry of magic, I'll quickly send this letter before she takes up all the space with her recommendations! Our Owl refused to take the mail, last time, since there were too many pages ... No, just kidding. I was just thought you and I should have a man to man talk, for once._

_I will contact the Swanson, try to get organize for this summer. I think it will be good for you to spend the holidays at your friend's and find out a little more about the muggle world. Your grandfather will be very jealous! But I'm sure you two will have more to share after this experience!_

_Will Wendy spend her summer there as well? I'm not going to give you a speech about bees like your mother did to James when he first began to be interested in a girl, but I will expect you to be reasonable."_

Albus blushed and looked up from the letter with an embarrassed chuckle.

- "It's not like I'm _in love_ with her!" he said aloud. "That speech was already ridiculous at the time, and James was three years younger than me now – Dad, _please_. Spare me."

The owls stared at him with big eyes. One of them turned his head backwards on his neck and hooted, knitting his gray eyebrows.

- "Sorry, guys ... " Albus sighed. "I wasn't talking to you."

Distant loud voices caught his attention. He leaned over to look outside. Far below, in the school yard, some girls were having a fight.

- "Ouch, ouch, ouch ..." muttered the teen. "I hope Lily's not part of this mess ..."

He lost interest in the fight from which he could not even grabbed a few snippets of words, put the letter on his lap and looked at the immense sight the highest tower of Hogwarts was giving him.

The flanks of the hill were dressed in soft green and the lake shimmered softly in spring light. The air smelled good. Even the Forbidden Forest seemed less scary with some fruit trees in blossom scattered in her dark cloak like pastel colored pompoms.

_"Hogwarts must be beautiful in this season. Quidditch workouts will be more comfortable than this winter, although I have heard from a certain person you perfectly mastered the cozy-arse spell your uncle - that rascal! - kept a secret for years."_

Albus chuckled.

- "Yes, and I'm not the only one who likes the spell! Professor Wood said it was the best thing he ever learnt in years!"

_"Mum has already sent your birthday present, but I had another idea for you. Fifteen is not just any age, and I wanted to take you somewhere. Just you and me. Would you be okay to skip the next trip to Hogsmead? I think we won't have trouble obtaining permission to ..."_

Albus paused again. Still holding the letter, he thoughtfully rubbed his thumb against his lips. He was quite proud of the manly shape his jaw was beginning to show but didn't realize his fine features, when he was deep in thought, gave him the poet-lost-on-the-moon look he was trying to get rid of.

- "Just where do you want to take me, Dad? What do you have in mind?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued ...<em>**

**_See you next on "BRIGHT AS NIGHT"_**


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